Poultry picking machine



FIG. l

DELOS B. VAN DOLAH IRVIN R. LENTZ INVENTORS ATTORNEY ug- 30, 1955 D. B. VAN DOLAH ETAL POULTRY PICKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 1'7, 1951 FIG.2

United States Patent Office 2,716,257 Patented Aug. 30, 1955 PoULTRY PICKING MACHINE Delos B. Van Dolah and Irvin R. Lentz, Chicago, Ill., assignors to Swift & Company, Chicago, lll., a corporation of Illinois Application December 17, 1951, Serial No. 261,998

7 Claims. (Cl. 17-11.1)

The present invention relates to the dressing of poultry.

A principal object of the invention is the speedy removal of the feathers across the back of the birds, the back of the wings, and areas adjacent thereto.

One of the advantages of the instant method and apparatus is the thoroughness with which the picking is accomplished. Compared to the conventional practices of picking poultry, the present method and apparatus leaves the picked areas extremely clean.

A further advantage is that through the use of the instant invention the esh of the birds in the picked areas is not damaged. Obviously damage to the birds such as occurs in many instances during picking reduces the market value of the birds.

Another object of the invention is the removal of the heads of the birds with vthe same basic apparatus used in performing the picking operation. This has the additional advantage that additional labor is not required to remove the suspended poultry from the apparatus used to properly position the birds for picking.

A third object of the invention is the removal of the heads without breaking the esophagus at the junction of the esophagus and the crop. When the esophagus is broken at that junction, a place where it normally tends to break, the contents of the crop drain into the neck cavity of the birds and soil the cavity.

The method and apparatus of the instant invention has the advantage that existing picking machines and conveying equipment may be converted to practice the invention with relatively inexpensive modifications thereof.

Other objects and advantages include: the small amount of hand labor involved in practicing the invention and the fact that that labor need not be skilled; the simplicity of the apparatus normally used in practicing the invention; and the necessity of adding no additional moving parts to existing picking equipment if it is desired to convert existing equipment rather than fabricate new machines.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of an embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the positioning and head pulling structure of the embodiment of Fig. l. l

The method we have devised for the effective picking of the backs of the birds and the back of the wings thereof is to support the birds by the necks and legs and to hold the birds so supported in contact with the flexible picking fingers of a drum type picking machine. By rotating the birds rst to one side and then to the other additional areas around the wings and the sides of the birds may be cleaned.

Fig. l illustrates an embodiment of this concept including a flexible-fingered, drum-type picking machine generally through which the individual birds are carried by supporting means generally 11 with the birds being picked by the stroking action of the ngers against the birds. Supporting means 11 includes a power-driven overhead conveyor 12 and a neck and leg holding shackle 13 attached to the conveyor 12 by means of a chain 14. Shackle 13 has a neck holding portion 37 and a leg holding portion 15. Generally speaking, various types of neck and leg holding shackles 13 may be used. We prefer to use the one illustrated and described in our co-pending application, Serial No. 224,800 filed May 5, 1951, now Patent No. 2,667,660, the disclosure of which application is included herein by reference.

Picking machine 10 includes a frame 16 covered by a shield 17. Suitably journaled in frame 16 are a pair of picking drums 18 and 19. Each of drums 18 and 19 have a plurality of relatively long llexible picking ngers 20 attached thereto.

Drum 18 has a pulley 21 secured thereto, which pulley is connected by a belt 22 to a pulley 23 on a motor 24. Preferably pulleys 21 and 23 are so portioned with respect to each other and to the speed of motor 24 that drum 18 will be driven at a speed of approximately 375 revolutions per minute. The direction of rotation of drum 18 is indicated by arrow 25.

Similarly, drum 19 is driven from a motor 27 by means of pulleys 28 and 29 secured respectively to the motor and drum, and a belt 36 interconnecting the two pulleys. Preferably the speed of drum 19 is about 15() revolutions per minute, although some leeway may be allowed in this speed and still obtain substantially the same results, whereby the rate of contact of the fingers of drum 19 on the bird is substantially less than is the rate of Contact of the fingers of drum i8. The direction of rotation of drum 19 is indicated by arrow 30.

Along the line of movement, as indicated by center line 32, of the conveyor through the picking machine is positioned a guide bar 33, the two ends of which are bent back about the ends of the slower moving drum to form a mounting means attached to frame 16. The elevation of the guide bar is such that it will contact the side of the shackle above the feet of the birds, as seen in Fig. 1.

At a slightly lower elevation than guide bar 33 and at about the elevation of the neck and leg holding portions is a spacer bar 35. The spacer bar 35 is substantially closer to the faster moving drum 18 than it is to the slower drum 19. At the entering end of the picking machine 10 (the direction of movement of the birds through the machine is illustrated by arrows 36 in Fig. 2) the guide bar extends some distance beyond the end of the drums in order to give an operator time to loop the necks of the birds over the spacer bar and secure them in a neck-holding portion 37 of shackle 13. Beyond this extension, which is indicated by the number 38, the spacer bar turns downwardly to form a mounting means connected back to frame 16.

At the exit end of the machine, the spacer bar has a re-entrant portion 49 after which the spacer bar 3S turns outwardly to form a mounting means connected to frame 16. Preferably the re-entrant portion is or' smaller diameter material than is the remainder of the spacer bar and slants upwardly in the direction of movement of the birds through the machine. ln the illustrated embodiment, the majority of spacer bar 35 is formed from 3A pipe while the re-entrant portion, which forms a head puller as subsequently described, is formed of 1/2 rod welded to the pipe.

Attached to spacer bar 35 and spaced between the ends of the drum is an otfset 41, the two ends of which are at a diagonal with respect to the spacer bar while the central portion is generally parallel thereto. This offset turns the birds as they pass through the picking machine to facilitate the cleaning thereof as hereinafter described. In the illustrated embodiment, the amount of the offset is approximately 3".

Drum 18 is set at such a height with respect to the movement of the birds along the conveyor that the ends -The slower moving `drum 19` should beset at such.

a height that the fingers 200i drum 19.V work against the bottom of the bird to hold it into the ngersof the faster moving drum 18. v

The presentmethodand apparatus are preferably used in= the processing line after the legs of the birds have been hung in the shacklesand the birds have been scalded. In Vsome installations, the birds so processed may have beenpassed through a slant, roughing ma` chine before the present picking method and apparatus are employed.

YAs the birds. so hung approach the pass along the extension 38 of spacer bar 35 the neck of the bird is lifted up and behind the extension `38 so that the bird is looped over the spacer .bar 35 with both the legs and the neck'hanging in the shackle 13. The shackle and the spacer bar along with the guide bar and the slower moving drum 19 form an aligning means to .hold the bird in proper position for most effective picking of the shoulders and backs of the birds as well as the backs of the wings thereof. As the birds pass through the machine, the offset 41 turns the birds irst one way as the neck rides up on the diagonal portion of the offset and then the other way as the neck rides down the other diagonal portion of the oiset to further the cleaning of the backs of the wings and adjacent areas of the body of the bird.

As thebird leaves the picking drums, the neck is caught inrefentrant portion 40 of spacer bar 35 and thepull of the shackle on the head and feet of the birds while the neck is caught in the re-entrant portion detaches the head from the neck. At the same time, the esophagus is clamped in the re-entrant portion 40 so thatthe esophagus is broken adjacent the head rather than at the junction of the esophagus and the crop.

The foregoing description of a specific embodiment is for-the purpose of complying with 35 U. S. C. 112 and should not be construed as imposing any unnecessary limitations upon the appended claims.

' We claim:

l. A poultry picking machine including a frame, a pair of drums rotatably mounted in said frame and having exible fingers projecting therefrom, said drums being positioned Vgenerally side by side with one of said drums being mounted at a higher elevation than is the other of the drums, and power-driving means operatively connected to said drums to drive said one drum substantially faster than said other drum.

2. A poultry picking machine including a frame, a pair of drums rotatably mounted in said frame andhaving flexible fingers projecting therefrom, said drums being positioned generally side by side with one of said drums being mounted at a higher elevation than is the other of the drums, and power-driving means operatively' connected to said drums to drive said one drum at about 375 R. P. M. and said other drum at about 150 R..P. M.

3. A device for picking feathers from poultry, said device including a frame, a pair of drums rotatably closer to the faster moving drum than to the slower 4 moving drum'with the back of the bird facing the slower moving drum.

4. A device for picking feathers from poultry, said device including a frame, a pair of drums rotatably mounted in said frame and having flexible fingers projecting therefrom, one of said drums being mounted at a higher elevation than is the other of the dmms,V

power-driving means operatively connected to said drums 'to drive said one drum substantially faster than said other drum, andsupporting and aligning means iucluding a shackle having head andfeet holding portions to move the birds along a given path between the drums, a spacing bar mounted on said frame and positioned above said drums at about the elevation of said portions and closer to said one drum than to the other drum whereby the birds may be hung yin said shackle with the neck and feet on opposite sides of said bar, and a guide bar attached to said frame and positioned generally along said path above said drums at an elevation to contact said shackles.

5. A device for picking feathers from poultry, saidv device including a frame, a pair of drums rotatably mounted iny said frame and havingflexible fingers projecting therefrom, one of said drums being mounted at a higher elevation than is the other of the drums, power-driving means operatively connected to said drums to drive said one drum substantially faster than said other drum, and supporting and aligning means includ- `ing a shackle having head and feet holding portions.V

to move thebirds. along a given path between the drums, a spacing bar mounted on said frame and positioned above said drums at about the elevation of said portions and closer to said one drum than to the other drum whereby the birds may be hung in said shackle with the neck and feet on opposite sides of said bar, said bar having a diagonal offset along a portion of the bar generally midway between the ends of the drums, said otset being in a direction generally away froml"said other drum whereby the bird, when traversing said portion, will be moved closer to said one drum and turned iirstvone way and t-hen the other, and a guide bar attached to said frame and positioned generally along saidpath above said drums at an elevation to contactf said shackles.

6. A device for use with a drum-mounted flexible fingertype picking machine and 'a head and leg poultry shackle supported from an overhead conveyor for movement along a vertical plane between the fingers of said may"chine, said device including a spacing bar, mounting Vmeans being attached to said bar only a substantial dis- 1tance 'beyond the ends of the drums whereby the birds may be hooked in said shackles with the legs and necks of the birds on opposite sides ot the bar Ior passage through the machine, a guide bar, and mounting means ,4 for the guide bar to position said' guide bar generally in said` plane at an elevation to contact said shackles4 at'the opposite side of the shackles from the spacer bar.

7. A device for use with a drum-mounted kflexible finger-type picking machiney and a head and leg poultry shackle supported from an overhead conveyor for movement along a verticalplane between the fingers of said machine, said device including a generally straight spacing bar, mountingA means to position said bar above the fingers of one of the drums and spaced to one side of the shackles moving along said plane between the fingers, said. mounting means being attached to said bar only a substantial'distancebeyond the ends of the drums whereby the birds may be hooked in said shackles with the legs and necksv of the birds on opposite sides of the bar for passagethrough the machine, said bar having an offset l along a portion of the bar generally midway between.

form of a truncated triangle With the base along said bar and the side opposite the base positioned from the base in a direction generally away from said other drum whereby the bird, when traversing said portion, will be moved closer to said one drum and turned rst one Way and then the other, a guide bar, and mounting means for the guide bar to position said guide bar generally in said plane at an elevation to contact said shackles at the opposite side of said shackles from said spacer bar.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,960,048 Bruce May 22, 1934 6 Onorato et al. Aug. 6, 1940 Bilek Aug. 13, 1946 Staufenbiel Mar. 25, 1947 Johnson Apr. 5, 1949 Toti et al. May 3, 1949 Porter Aug. 23, 1949 Koonz Apr. 4, 1950 Tomlinson June 27, 1950 Barker Tune 19, 1951 Johnson `Tuly 10, 1951 Sharp May 13, 1952 Former et al. Mar. 24, 1953 Johnson June 16, 1953 

